Civil Liberties in the Digital Age: Weekly Highlights (6/19/2012)

In the digital age that we live in today, we are constantly exposing our personal information online. From using cell phones and GPS devices to online shopping and sending e-mail, the things we do and say online leave behind ever-growing trails of personal information. The ACLU believes that Americans shouldn’t have to choose between using new technology and keeping control of your private information. Each week, we feature some of the most interesting news related to technology and civil liberties that we’ve spotted from the previous week.

"Just what kind of information can the government get with a so-called 'national security letter' – the tool that allows investigators to seek financial, phone and Internet data without a judge’s approval? It’s a secret."

"This caught the attention of the tech company illuminati. Facebook, LinkedIn, Zynga, and Yahoo joined forces to file a brief [pdf] in the case urging the Supreme Court not to allow people to sue them for breaking federal laws when those people suffered no actual injury."

"The FTC is the lead agency in the government’s effort to ensure that companies do not cross the still-hazy border between acceptable and unacceptable data collection. But the agency’s ambitions are clipped by a lack of both funding and legal authority, reflecting a broader uncertainty about the role government should play in what is arguably America’s most promising new industry."

"Publishers are only just beginning to mull over the potential uses for e-reading data…Some privacy watchdogs argue that e-book users should be protected from having their digital reading habits recorded."